Under the plan, 55.5 percent of the state’s energy would come from solar, 35 percent from wind and the remainder from a combination of hydroelectric, geothermal, tidal and wave energy.

by News Staff
/
July 28, 2014

Although it might sound improbable, researchers from Stanford University believe there’s evidence that California can be powered by all renewables by the year 2050.

The road map, published in the academic journal Energy, relies upon a mix of capital investment and “modest” efficiency measures.

According to a post from the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment, utilizing solar power plants, wind turbines and ocean wave devices, geothermal, hydrogen fuel-cell cars and other sources would spur a net increase of 220,000 jobs in California, reduce energy demand by 44 percent, and save more than $100 billion annually in health costs related to air pollution.

“If implemented, this plan will eliminate air pollution mortality and global warming emissions from California, stabilize prices and create jobs – there is little downside,” said Mark Z. Jacobson, the study’s lead author and a Stanford professor of civil and environmental engineering. He is also the director of Stanford’s Atmosphere/Energy Program and a senior fellow with the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment and the Precourt Institute for Energy.

Under the plan, 55.5 percent of the state’s energy would come from solar, 35 percent from wind and the remainder from a combination of hydroelectric, geothermal, tidal and wave energy.

Here’s one scenario, according to Stanford, for fulfilling all of California’s energy needs by 2050: